Table I. —Baseline characteristics for both groups according to allocation.
| Variables | Study intervention (N.=60) |
Control intervention (N.=60) |
Ρ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropometric data | |||
| Age (years) * | 65.7 (61.66, 68.33) | 64.7 (60.93, 69.26) | 0.910 |
| Gender: male N (%) † | 53 (88.33%) | 57 (95.00%) | 0.186 |
| Height (cm) * | 170.00 (166.00, 173.00) | 170.00 (165.00, 172.50) | 0.499 |
| Weight (kg) ‡ | 67.74±10.95 | 66.17±9.45 | 0.401 |
| Comorbidity, N. (%) | |||
| Hypertension † | 7 (11.67%) | 3 (5.00%) | 0.186 |
| Ischemic heart disease † | 4 (6.66%) | 7 (11.67%) | 0.194 |
| Heart failure † | 4 (6.66%) | 7 (11.67%) | 0.194 |
| Smoking status: never/current N (%) † | 11 (18.33%)/49 (81.67%) | 9 (15.00%)/51 (85.00%) | 0.624 |
| Medical treatment, N. (%) | |||
| Inhaled long-acting bronchodilators (%) † | 49 (83.05%) | 45 (75.00%) | 1.000 |
| 6-minute walking distance (m) ‡ | 423.27±59.34 | 439.30±53.98 | 0.124 |
| Spirometry | |||
| FEV1 (L) ‡ | 1.15±0.27 | 1.10±0.26 | 0.316 |
| FEV1%predicted (%) * | 40.92 (32.10, 47.40) | 40.40 (31.97, 45.75) | 0.495 |
| FVC (L) ‡ | 2.50±0.52 | 2.45±0.55 | 0.570 |
| FEV1 / FVC (%) * | 43.80 (39.83, 53.66) | 45.24 (39.75, 52.31) | 0.998 |
| Maxima ventilation volume (L/min) ‡ | 44.97±13.74 | 42.68±13.10 | 0.384 |
| Peak expiratory flow (L/s) ‡ | 3.47±1.09 | 3.39±1.05 | 0.686 |
| mMRC grade1 N. (%)† | 31 (51.67%) | 27 (45.00%) | 0.383 |
| mMRC grade2 N. (%) † | 20 (33.33%) | 27 (45.00%) | |
| mMRC grade3 N. (%) † | 9 (15.00%) | 6 (10.00%) | |
| PaCO2 (mmHg) * | 40.80 (38.50, 43.20) | 39.55 (36.85, 43.05) | 0.233 |
| PaO2 (mmHg) * | 77.20 (72.00, 84.95) | 77.60 (73.00, 84.15) | 0.787 |
| Diaphragm motion in quiet breathing (cm) ‡ | 2.26±0.69 | 2.29±0.60 | 0.789 |
| Diaphragm motion in deep breathing (cm) ‡ | 4.67±1.22 | 4.52±0.94 | 0.450 |
Data are reported as the mean±standard deviation, or median (25th centile, 75th centile) unless stated otherwise. FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC: forced vital capacity; mMRC: modified Medical Research Council; PaCO2: partial pressure of carbon dioxide; PaO2: partial pressure of oxygen; inhaled long-acting bronchodilators: long-acting β2 adrenergic agonists or anticholinergic agents. *Wilkinson Rank Test for non-normally distributed data; ‡Independent t-test; †χ2 test was used to compare groups.